Today was our last day of work in Ishinomaki. It has been a great time of kingdom service.
The project leader was Jordan Foxwell, an MK who knew our children Dave and Erin back in CAJ (Christian Academy in Japan) days.
Each house crawl space has several inches of tsunami mud sediment that has to be removed by shovel and bagged for disposal.
Some bags of mud stacked outside
This is what Dave fell through, trying to carry too heavy a bag in a late afternoon darkened room when he was too tired.
But it's all worth it when a house comes together...
...and a family gets to move back in. This is the Abe family, a mother, daughter and grandchild. They were swept away in the tsunami and separated. The mother was able to swim to an unknown house and got into a second story window where she spent the night till the water subsided. The daughter became exhausted and lost sight of her daughter and was ready to give up when the daughter suddenly popped to the surface, and they too were able to get into a second floor window, and were all finally reunited. The mom is holding the family nameplate which is affixed to the entry gate. She is waiting to be able to attach it to their newly refurbished house. Thank you for your generous gifts which make all this possible!
Jim standing in the doorway of another house we worked on
This is a house dedication ceremony, the event we all wait for when songs of thanksgiving and prayers are offered to the Lord. The families don't seem to mind. This is another example of how the tsunami "washed" the gospel into homes we would never have had the opportunity to enter otherwise.
This is a place called Matsushima which translates as "Pine Island," a bit different from the Lake Murray place by the same name!
May there come a day when not one of the over 4,000 islands that comprise Japan has not heard the gospel of grace of our Lord. Thank you again for your prayers, money and love given to the dear people of Japan.
Tomorrow we head back to Chiba, a 5 to 9 hour trip, depending on traffic and how often we have to stop.
1 comment:
Dear Dave & Barb Bindewald,
I was sent your blog link by Linda K, and want to say Domo, and praise to the Living God who truly can make all things work out for good for those who love Him and are called.
We pray for families like the Abe's, and may the gospel that's being washed into the homes you're refurb'ing bring new and true light into many a dark place.
If you're ever out near Sakata, Yamagata Pref. please stop in my friend's restaurant, Mareno Grande (Italia ryori). My friends the owners are a lovely family who also need His light.
David S, Pennsylvania.
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